Alumni Spotlight: Neeraj Jaisinghani '15

Since SC graduation, I feel like I've been around the world. I pursued my degree at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where I received my Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations. I had a tremendous experience at Cornell and embodied the motto of "Go Big Red." While in college, I was involved in various organizations, like the University Assembly and the Student Assembly. I was an Admissions Ambassador for the ILR School, where I frequently met with prospective or accepted students interested in attending Cornell. I was also involved in Cayuga's Watchers, a non-profit student organization designed to mitigate the harms associated with high-risk drinking while promoting student safety, as well as hospitality consulting and finance clubs.

Aside from life on campus in Ithaca, I got to experience life on campus in London--through study abroad. I spent my spring semester of junior year at University College London in their School of Management. Throughout study abroad, I met some of my closest friends, who I still travel the world with today. During this semester, I was fortunate to visit 18 cities across three continents, and I've had the travel bug ever since.

In terms of work experience, after my sophomore year, I secured an internship at LinkedIn HQ in Silicon Valley, where I worked on Talent Acquisition Strategy. The following summer, I accepted an internship at Deloitte Consulting in New York City, where I got to work on a change management strategy for a prominent financial services firm. When thinking about what I wanted to do after graduating from Cornell, I made the decision to try something new, all while staying at a company I loved. Thus, I accepted a full-time opportunity at LinkedIn, joining the Business Leadership Program in San Francisco. LinkedIn's mission is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce, and the organization has an unparalleled culture of transformation, humor, integrity, results, and collaboration. I received an early promotion and have now relocated to our New York City office, where I've started a role in sales!

My experience at Cornell was bar none, and I couldn't have gotten there without Sierra. Cornell is where I met some of my closest lifelong friends, and my college experience was a transformative journey that I will look back on fondly forever.

When did you first come to Sierra Canyon? What was your SC experience like? Are there any classes, clubs, teams, or teachers that greatly impacted you?

My experience at Sierra Canyon was one for the books, in which I honed my character, my determination to succeed, and my passion for communication. At SC, like at Cornell, I was very involved on campus. I arrived freshman year and joined the football team. Throughout my time at school, I developed a fervor for public speaking and left SC, having captained the speech and debate and mock trial teams. The ability to be so involved at school shaped who I am today. The opportunities afforded to me at Sierra Canyon allowed me to take these leadership skills to my university and to my professional career. At SC, I had started a club dedicated to community service in our local neighborhood called Team Up, inspired by my involvement in Sierra Canyon's Week of Giving. I look back on my educational experience at Sierra very highly, remembering history classes taught by Mr. Anker, Spanish classes taught by Mrs. DeCarlow, and music classes taught by Mr. Fennell. My most impactful memory at SC is my experience on the speech and debate team lead by Ms. Zielinski. She was my confidant and mentor throughout my entire time at SC and even throughout my college years. I feel incredibly grateful to have forged such meaningful relationships with the faculty and staff at Sierra Canyon, and my successes today would not be the same without their guidance and influence throughout the years.

Are you still in touch with anyone from Sierra Canyon?

I feel fortunate to still be connected with my SC family - my peers in my graduating class, my former teammates from speech and debate, incredible faculty and staff like Stacy Feliz and Tom Fennell, and so many more. I'm also excited to continue having SC alumni feed into the Cornell family as well. My younger brother Mohit is on track to be an SC lifer, having been at Sierra Canyon since Early Kindergarten. It's incredible to see him continue on the Sierra Canyon legacy and to see how the school continues to invest in its students. I'm always excited to put on my SC hoodie and represent our community, wherever I am in the world. I look forward to seeing the SC network continue to grow, Los Angeles, and beyond.